2025 NHL Draft Profile: Gustav Hillström

There are two forwards remaining that I will write full profiles for, starting with today. Both Gustav Hillström and tomorrow's player are very likely to be available in the third round – they may even be available in later rounds, in fact. Funnily enough, both of them were teammates this year over in Sweden. I saw both at times while following Toronto's Victor Johansson, and I came to like each one for different reasons.

Today, I'll be talking about Hillström, who is a big Swedish centre in the same mold as Paupanekis from yesterday.

THE BASICS: STATS AND CONTEXT

• Position: Right-shot centre
• League(s): J20 Nationell (Sweden junior)
• Height: 6'2"
• Weight: 176 lbs
• Birthdate: January 20th, 2007

Here are his draft rankings, as of writing this:

• Bob McKenzie: Not ranked
• Corey Pronman: 67th
• Will Scouch: 21st
• Elite Prospects: 134th
• Scott Wheeler: 96th
• Dobber Prospects: Not ranked
• FC Hockey: 69th
• McKeen's Hockey: 58th
• HockeyProspect.com: Not ranked

Hillström's story is a similar one to many good, but not great prospects who come through Sweden's system. As a native Swede, he's been playing there since he started playing hockey. As he's progressed up each league and level, he's always been a step and a tier down from the elite prospects in terms of how fast he's bumped up to the next age group and how well he's performed. He's never been a top point producer, and he's never played a top role for Sweden internationally – but he has been on their rosters going back to when he was 15 years old.

This year, Hillström mostly played in Sweden's top junior league – the J20 Nationell. He had 16 goals and 38 points in 43 games. That was good for second on his team, behind a player who is two years older than him. I was not able to see as many games of his as others I've profiled so far, since watching Sweden's junior games is not as easy – and is impossible unless watching them live. But from what I've seen, he was their top line centre including in the playoffs. He played in all situations as well, not necessarily on top units or in a top role, but he was one of their best all around players.

Hillström's play in junior was enough for him to have a noteworthy stint in the top Swedish pro league, the SHL. He dressed in 18 games and averaged 5:23 per game, with one longer stint of 7 games across December and January, and then a few one or two game stints dotted through the rest of the year during slower periods in his junior schedule. In those 18 games, he had two points – a goal and an assist.

Outside of his league play, Hillström also represented Team Sweden for 10 games, half at the Hlinka Gretzky in the summer and the rest in a minor tournament in November. In those games, he played in a depth role, between 11 and 14 minutes per game. He had one single point.

THE GOOD: SOLID TWO-WAY CENTRE

From the games of Hillström's that I saw, and scouting reports I've seen, the strengths of his game are all based around being a reliable two-way centre. That means decent offense, good defense, and high hockey sense.

Offensively, Hillström as of now appears to be generally average but showcased more potential over the season. He reminds me a bit of Steven Lorentz on the Leafs, with a mostly simple but effective game for a depth guy, but with the occasional moment of pulling out a flashy play. His best offensive tools and potential is around the net and in the slot, where he has a good and quick shot and the size to fight and dig in his position. He can spin away from opponents with cutback moves and has scored by creating turnovers through forechecking, then quickly moving to open space for a shot. He's also shown the ability to be an offensive threat when driving hard to the net and has accumulated quality one-timer chances from the slot, facilitating shooting looks for teammates.

When moving with the puck, Hillström has decent skill and a mindset to attack the middle of the ice. His strength on the puck allows him to get to the middle of the ice for better scoring opportunities. As a passer, he is also pretty good but nothing high end. He can make the passes he needs to make, but he's definitely a better goal scorer than a set up man. On the powerplay, he can showcase more patience and deceptiveness, including no-look passes while looking in a different direction.

Hillström's skating and mobility are strong, not elite but definitely above average. His mobility overall is also helped a lot by being smart, being able to read and anticipate play as it develops and positioning himself proactively. Scouts are mostly very high on his off-puck intelligence and pure skating ability that consistently puts him in the right places on the ice. He is efficient in play-driving in transition, generally moving the puck well and preferring to use the middle of the ice when possible.

One of the things that I like the most about is Hillström's off-puck game. It's what drives most of his two-way impact. He is pretty aggressive in engaging opponents physically in the neutral zone to disrupt their transitions. He is similarly aggressive on the forecheck, skating hard and getting to the inside of opponents, and demonstrates effective strategies in winning board battles. He supports play well with good positioning, being an outlet for his defense on breakouts. He can be a handful physically, powering through checks and winning battles along the wall with above average strength and determination.

On the defensive side of things, Hillström is both a hard worker and smart. Scouts I've read all like his defensive upside and projection. He is strong on the puck and effective backchecking are key assets, as is his good defensive awareness, often covering for out-of-position defenders. He's tough in front of both nets and excels in the faceoff dot, winning many key draws by getting low and using his strength to torque the puck back to his defense. His reach and speed are instrumental in breaking up plays, and he consistently moves play in the right direction.

THE FLAWS: LIMITED OFFENSIVE PROJECTION

Hillström's biggest areas for improvement are on the offensive side. His strong hockey sense is mostly visible without the puck, but with it he can be indecisive and not creative. He will often default to making simple and obvious plays, which is not always the wrong or bad play to make, but also limits his upside. I've seen scouts describe him as more of a "connector" than a "driver" offensively, and I think that's very true. He can receive a pass and move it on to another teammate to make the offensive play.

Other things I've seen scouts point out, Hillström could improve his ability on getting into open spaces in the offensive zone when teammates have the puck down low. He can also work on his shot selection, especially on the rush when he tends to take low-percentage shots. While I generally like his forechecking, he has a tendency to be too aggressive in chasing down loose pucks, taking penalties or taking himself out of passing lanes. He can also skate too fast through passing lanes, making himself a difficult target for passes. Additionally, he has shown instances of panicking under pressure when handling the puck, which honestly is why I think he defaults to making quick and simple plays with it.

Skating wise, Hillström is apparently another example of a guy who looks like he is quick and agile just fine, but scouts point out non-ideal mechanics that can hold back other elements of his game. I won't bother listing the mechanical terms, but I'll summarize what these scouts say is the result of those issues: lack of a higher-end second gear with the puck, less effective stride over longer distances, he seems to fall too often because of losing his edge.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

In the end, I like Hillström because he's solid at many things. His skills align strongly with what I want from a two-way centre, which is also ideal for a centre up and down the lineup. I think he's far more likely to wind up being at a Holmberg level, if that, but with the potential to be better. Despite the mechanical issues the scouts point out, I find him to be very mobile already and I think those issues can be worked out with top skating coaches. I also think he'll add more power to his skating, checking and shot as he adds more muscle – he's not extremely lanky, but 176 lbs at 6'2" has plenty of room for more weight.

Hillström is definitely more of a long-term project, but that's what you're going to get from players outside of the first round. I find his game and currently skill levels as more easily projectable than most others who seem likely to be available in later rounds, and he doesn't have a lot of draft hype that I've seen. He wasn't ranked by McKenzie or Pronman, so even though NHL Central Scouting had him 35th among European skaters, that puts him into the third round.

Despite not having nearly the same talent level of Zharovsky or Lee, and not having the same level of physical tools as Paupanekis, Hillström is a more realistic player to still be available in the third round. He may not be as exciting, but he's the kind of player coaches and fans will love.

Thanks for reading!

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and Toronto's prospects. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (CHL, NCAA, USHL, the occasional TSN options for international tournaments that are broadcast) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Future Considerations, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

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